Once The Shock Wore Off
by Just4FunFiction
Summary: This is my first Hey Arnold piece, and is an alternate ending for the episode 'Rhonda Goes Broke'. If you read the note at the beginning, you'll see why, because I couldn't fit it here.


**(A/N: So, there wasn't enough room for my explanation in the description, so I decided to explain why I did this here. Lately, with the announcement of The Jungle Movie finally being made, I decided to go back and watch the entire series and the original movie. I absolutely love Hey Arnold, and think that the team behind it created some amazing episodes. However, when I watched 'Rhonda Goes Broke'... well, I hated it. I felt that it did no justice to the character whatsoever like they had done with her in other episodes, like 'Best Friends' and 'Polishing Rhonda'. Those episodes gave the character more depth, while this episode flattened her down to one-dimension, and the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. So, when you're a writer and you have this kind of issue with a TV show or film or whatever, what do you do? You write your own ending. I'm not going to claim that this is better than the actual episode, because it's impossible to compare the two, but this is how I wish it had ended. Okay, I'm done ranting. Have a good day, and I hope you enjoy!)**

Rhonda smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had taken a bath, and was now back in her normal clothing- her favourite red sweater, which had been replaced, her black pants and her new red hi tops. Her raven hair was now neatly styled like it used to be, and it truly felt like she was herself again. She had all but forgotten about everything that had happened.

She turned around when she heard a knock at the door. "Rhonda?" her mother, Brooke, called in. "It's mummy, darling."

"Come in," Rhonda replied.

The door opened and her mother entered the room. She took one look at her daughter and smiled. "There we go! Don't you feel better now, Rhonda?"

Rhonda nodded. "Yes, mother. I think I've finally calmed down now."

"That's good to hear. Now, your father already packed our bags, so once we've had dinner, we'll head straight to Aspen."

"Yes!" She eagerly hugged her mother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Brooke laughed at her daughter's excitement. "It's alright. This has been a difficult experience, I know, but it will not happen again. I promise." She released herself from her daughter's hug. "Now, we better go downstairs, because dinner will be ready soon."

So, Rhonda had dinner with her parents, before they all headed to the airport and took the plane to Aspen. It was a couple of hours for the flight, but they eventually arrived. As soon as they arrived at the mountainside ski resort, Rhonda practically leapt out of the plane into the snow below. She smiled widely as she looked around at the beautiful landscape. It was late, so all the outdoors lights were lit up, and it felt magical to be back there.

'It's good to be rich again,' she thought, sighing contently.

"Rhonda!" she heard a voice call. Turning around, she saw Peapod Kid approaching her, carrying two mugs of hot cocoa. "This is certainly a surprise!"

"Why, hello to you, too!" she greeted, before looking at the mugs of cocoa he was carrying. "Is one of those for me?"

"Why, yes, it is!" He handed her a mug. "My family heard the news, and I must say, congratulations!"

"Why, thank you. It feels good to be done with that whole situation, and be back here again."

"I can see. You're certainly looking a lot better than you have the last few days, that's for sure."

"Well-" she paused for a second, her smile slightly weakening. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were crying, your clothes were a mess, you were frenzied at times- it was as if you had lost who you were."

Again, her smile faded as she took this into consideration. "Oh."

He seemed oblivious to this, as he continued to grin. "But, now everything is back to how it was, so it doesn't matter!" He raised his mug in the air. "Cheers!"

She looked at the mug, then back at him. "Oh!" she gasped, smiling a bit more as she clinked her mug with his. "Cheers."

He then walked away, leaving her to think. 'Had I really been that bad?' she asked herself. 'I mean, I know I took it badly, but… was I really like that?'

"Rhonda, darling!" She looked up as her father, Buckley, spoke to her. "It's late, so we'll go to our chateau and rest for the night."

She nodded, following her parents to their lodge. Looking around, she thought about her memories of past vacations at the place that was like a second home to her- roasting marshmallows by the fireplace, wrapping up in the blankets when nights were particularly cold, Christmas mornings- but she couldn't smile like she normally would.

"Good night," she said to her parents, taking her luggage and her cocoa into her room. She didn't even listen for her parents' response as she shut the door behind her. She sat down on the bed, placing her luggage next to it. She put both hands around the mug of cocoa, still warm, just staring into the chocolatey liquid. She wanted to drink it, but she didn't feel like she could. "Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I'll feel better when I've got some sleep."

* * *

"Rhonda, sweetie, it's time to go!" Buckley called out, holding his luggage in one hand. They had arrived on the Friday evening, and it was now the Sunday morning, the time they had agreed to leave. After a while, no response was heard. "Rhonda?" Again, silence. He turned to his wife. "You should go and see what's keeping her."

Brooke nodded. She walked up to the door that led to Rhonda's room in the lodge. "Rhonda?" she called in, knocking on the door. "It's mummy, dear. It's time to go." For a moment, there was no response, so she opened the door and stepped inside. When she got in, she saw Rhonda, sat on the bed, staring sadly at her feet. Her bags were already packed. "Rhonda, we need to get going or we will miss the flight." Rhonda just nodded. Brooke, sensing her daughter was upset, sat down, rubbing her back to comfort her. "Rhonda, is everything okay? You haven't looked like you've enjoyed yourself this weekend."

Rhonda sighed. "I haven't," she simply replied.

"How come?"

It took Rhonda a moment before she could answer. "I'm conceited, aren't I, mother?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Mother. I know it's true. The whole time we were poor, I acted like a spoilt, immature, snobbish brat. I acted as if I had lost everything, as if my one good characteristic was my wealth. Even when Arnold tried to help me, I was stuck-up and barely even listened to him. This whole trip, it just kept becoming more and more clear to me that I've always been like this. I don't like being like that, I don't WANT to be like that. I want to be able to show people that I'm more than just spoilt, and wealthy."

"Aww, honey… is that what's been bothering you? Rhonda, you're a Lloyd, and Lloyd's come from wealth, so it's almost natural to get caught up in that. You're growing up, sweetie, so you're still learning. I was much more spoilt when I was your age, because I went to a private school. You going to a public school was the right choice, because you have learnt much quicker than I did. And there is so much more to you than your wealth. I know it, your father knows it, and I am certain that all of your little friends know it too."

"Really?" Brooke nodded, and Rhonda smiled. "Thanks, mom." She gave her a quick hug, before she grabbed her luggage and stood up. "Okay, I'm good to go now."

So, they left for the plane. They took a quick stop at the gift stop, before being flown back to the airport they left from, and driving back to Hilltown. On the way, whilst looking out of the car, Rhonda saw that they passed the Sunset Arms. "I wish we could do something for Arnold and his family, to say thank you."

Brooke and Buckley laughed at her kindness. "I know you do, dear," Buckley told her, "but we've paid them for the rent, and you gave your friend Arnold a tip. Surely, we don't need to do anything else!"

Rhonda frowned. "I meant something a bit more personal." She then got an idea. "I've got it!" She whispered her idea into her parents' ears, and when they understood, they looked at each other, as if to ask what the other felt. "Well?"

* * *

A knock was heard at the door, so Phil stood up from his chair. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he yelled as he approached the door. Taking off the chain lock, he opened the door. "Yes?" He raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was the Lloyds, with their arms full of bags. "What do you want? I thought you were rich again."

"Well, we are," Buckley explained, "but we realised that we didn't thank you properly! So, as a thank you for your hospitality, if you will allow us, we would like to show you some of our own hospitality, with a meal!"

Phil looked at Rhonda, seeing her smiling hopefully, then smiled at them. "Well, sure! Go ahead!"

"Thank you, sir!" Rhonda told him. The three of them headed into the kitchen and began to prepare. While Brooke and Buckley prepared the meal, Rhonda dressed the table and handed the ingredients to her parents. It took them about an hour, but they were soon ready. "Thank you so much, mum and dad!"

"Not at all, sweetheart," Buckley told her, smiling as he put down the meal on the table. "Now then, everyone should join us soon."

As if on cue, they heard the dinner bell ringing. The three of them stood together, smiling as they saw the boarders come down the stairs one by one, and gasp as they saw the banquet that they had prepared. They had prepared a roast chicken with fresh stuffing, an assortment of vegetables, and a special chocolate cake was waiting in the fridge for dessert.

"Woah! Who hired the gourmet chef?!" Ernie said as he walked in, with Mr Hyundai and Oskar behind him.

"Yes! It is beautiful!" Mr Hyunh added.

The Lloyds all smiled at the compliments, watching as the boarders took their seats, but Rhonda's smile faded a little when she saw Arnold enter. "Hey, Arnold."

"Rhonda?" he asked, sitting at the table. "What's going on?"

"Well, since everyone's here," she cleared her throat, "there's something I need to say." Everyone turned their attention to her. "First of all, we want to say thank you for allowing us to stay here during our, erm, financial troubles. We paid for the stay, but it didn't feel right without returning your kindness." She looked down at her feet as she continued. "I also want to apologise for how I acted. It was such a shock that we became poor, but that does not excuse how I acted. I was conceited and stuck-up, and I feel horrible about it. It's something that I need to work on in the future. Either way, I apologise. Thank you for having us, and we hope you enjoy this meal."

The boarders looked amongst each other mumbling something. Rhonda bit her lip, worried that they thought she hadn't been sincere in her apology, but that thought disappeared when Arnold lifted his glass of water and, with a smile on his face, said, "thank you, Rhonda. We all appreciate the meal, and we're glad everything has worked out for you and your family. Here's to the future."

Rhonda smiled. 'Oh, Arnold, you always know the right thing to say,' she thought. She looked at the rest of the boarders as they raised their glasses and joined Arnold in giving cheers. From there, everything went smoothly. The Lloyds and the residents of the Boarding House enjoyed the delicious meal, and enjoyed being around each other. It was a truly enjoyable time for them, which eventually came to an end. Brooke and Buckley said goodbye to the boarders and began to head to the car, whilst Arnold and Rhonda talked for a little bit on the steps.

"Arnold?" she asked, as he looked at her. "Thank you, again."

"For what, Rhonda?" he asked.

"For making me see straight. You were right, I was acting pathetic. I completely ridiculed your lifestyle, just because I felt it was worse than the one I knew."

"Rhonda, it's okay." He smiled at her. "I just did what I thought would help. I figured that you would be better off if you accepted it, and you're doing better now. But, just so we're clear, I don't find you conceited." She looked at him, wondering how he could possibly think that. "I mean, you are a little spoiled, but that's just how you were raised. When it really matters, just like tonight, you really do care about people and how they feel."

That warmed her heart. "Wow… thank you, Arnold…" She then gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She quickly rushed to her car, then rushed back with a present box. He took it from her, and when he opened it, he saw a snow globe and a blue scarf. "I thought that you would like the snow globe, and that the scarf would match your hat, and would look really good on you. It's a genuine cashmere."

"Wow… I don't know what to say, except… thank you." He gently placed the box down, before taking out the scarf and putting on. "Well, how does it look?"

"Are you kidding?! It looks great! It totally goes with the ensemble!"

"Thanks, Rhonda."

"No problem, buddy." She gave him a friendly hug, before she headed to the car. "I'll see you tomorrow!" she shouted, waving as the car took off. As they went home, Rhonda felt content. Even though she was back to her old lifestyle, she felt like the experience had helped her to grow, especially with Arnold helping her on the way.

THE END


End file.
